


Faithful

by MoonlightShines (Thatkillervibe)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Caitlin/Jay scenes are in here as a warning, Canon Compliant, Cisco is mad, Cisco's couch, F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, KillerVibe - Freeform, Season 2, They are always there for each other, and maybe more - Freeform, but you better believe it's abusive as hecK, it's a theme, you tell me - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-02-08 14:45:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18625384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatkillervibe/pseuds/MoonlightShines
Summary: In which Caitlin gets a card from her mom, and other season 2 relationship troubles ensue.





	Faithful

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sssssssim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sssssssim/gifts).



> I saw 3x05. Remembered Caitlin's birthday. Then got mad.

Caitlin sat at her desk, drumming her manicured fingers against the tabletop, waiting for her results to come through. No matter how many times she tried to write down the equation for the theoretical Velocity 9, it never turned out right.

She sighed, eyeing the pile of mail she scooped up on her way to work, dreading the yellow envelope with her name on it with a sticker slapped on the top left corner belonging to Tannhauser Industries.

She caved, and rolled her chair over, picking it up and finding a knife from one of her drawers to slit it open nicely.

She slid out the card, and immediately rolled her eyes.

Cisco knocked at her door then and let himself in, zeroing in on the sparkles.

“Oooooooh,” he sang, leaning close. “What’s that?”

“A birthday card,” Caitlin said, very flatly.

Cisco actually laughed out loud, thinking she was joking.

“Cisco, I’m serious.”

She let him snatch it out of her hand. He read it, going quiet, the smile falling off his face.

“That bitch.”

“Cisco.”

“She's your mother. Even my parents remember my birthday! They just never like it as much as they do Dante's. My card comes in 2-3 business days.”

Caitlin crossed her arms over her chest, “Yes, well mine came in two to three business months. At least she remembered to send a card at all.”

He waved the card around, “This is crap!”

“Cisco, calm down.”

“No, Caitlin! Seriously. What made her realize?”

He held himself very stiff, and mimicked her mother’s voice, “Oh shit, was it two and a half months already since it’s been twenty seven years that I gave birth to my only child? Gee wiz, I better ask my receptionist to go to Hallmark and buy this card in my daughter’s least favourite colour!”

Well, Cisco was angry. You’d think her mother called him out in the blue ink.

Cisco realized the cheque flew out of the card, and he picked it up to put it back.

“Whoaaaa,” he exclaimed, covering his eyes. “I swear I did not mean to look, but my eyes sort of just fell there. I’m not judging but five thousand dollars?”

“I don’t want it,” Caitlin replied. “I never cash them.”

He turned on his heel, studying her.

“What?” she bristled.

Caitlin watched him take an extra rolling office chair, pulling it in front of her and sitting backwards in it.

“Are you okay?”

She shrugged her shoulders. It was mom. Caitlin was used to this. She’s been used to this for longer now than the times when they were happy.

"Caitlin,” he said gently, in that voice she has learned was reserved especially for her. “Your mother isn't worth your time.”

She met his piercing gaze, unable to look away with those eyes on her, so genuine.

“I know that,” she said. “I just wish…” She stopped, frowning at herself. Caitlin didn’t know what she wished.

“Hey,” he said, not liking her melancholy. "It’s up to you, but I say we are going to go out to dinner with this Dr T money."

Caitlin cracked a smile. "That...Sounds like a really good idea, honestly."

He beamed at her, bouncing in his seat. "We can tell the waiter it’s your birthday and get a free dessert."

Caitlin swatted his shoulder. "Ciscoooo."

He stood up and offered her a hand. She took it, slipping hers into his as he pulled her up.

"What?” he gave her an innocent looking face. “According to your mom it is, where’s the lie?”

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, shaking him a little and making him laugh. “You’ll have to clean up if you want to come with me where I’m thinking we should go.”

“I can do that.”

 

~.~

 

“Hey,” Jay said, tapping her nose. “You look very cute. Where are you off to?”

Caitlin looked down at her short dress, blushing. “Dinner with Cisco.”

“In that?”

Caitlin folded her arms over her chest. “I can wear what I want. It’s a fancy restaurant.”

Her boyfriend put down the Velocity 8 compounds he was fiddling with. “No, of course,” he soothed, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I just don’t want anyone there to get the wrong idea.”

“What wrong idea is that?” she asked.

“That you,” he smiled wickedly, tickling up the skin of her open back. “Have captured the heart of anyone other than mine.”

“Awww,” Caitlin cooed, but batted his wandering hands off. She didn’t want him crinkling her dress.

Cisco popped his head in, wearing a suit and tie. “Caitlin, you ready?”

She gathered her clutch and squeezed Jay’s bicep, leaving him to finish his work. “I’ll call you tonight?”

“No, it’s alright. You two kids have your fun.”

“We will,” she promised, looping her arm in Cisco’s.

“Oh, Cisco. A word?”

Cisco tilted his head, telling Caitlin to go on without him, but she paused, realizing her shoe strap was undone, and bend down once she was around the corner to fix it, still in earshot.

“Keep her safe for me?” Jay asked.

Caitlin was oblivious to the way Cisco narrowed his eyes, his chipper mood dimming ever so slightly, but she admitted the exchange was a little odd. He sounded annoyed, even. “...’Kay.” 

 

~.~

 

Caitlin knocked on Cisco’s workshop’s door. “Are you busy?”

“When aren’t I?” he joked, but took off his wielding mask and dumped it beside him. “What’s up?”

Caitlin smiled. “Close your eyes.”

“Caitlin, I don’t like these games. Haven’t I told you when I was eight and Dante used to—”

She shut him up by opening the palms of his hands and pressing a wrapped box between them. “Open it.”

He did silently, raising a curious brow, unwrapping a beautiful chest. On the chest was a note which read, “ _We’ve_ _got_ _trouble_. _Right_ _here_ _in_ _Central_ City. _We’ve_ _got_ _Trouble_ _with_ _a_ _capital_ _T_ _and_ _that_ _rhymes_ _with_ _P_ _and_ _that_ _stands_ _for_ …”

“Oh my god, The Music Man?” he laughed. “It’s been almost a year since we watched that with Barry.”

He wasn’t getting it.

She sat down, shaking the sleeve of his sweater. “Open it!!” she urged excitedly.

His hands undid the clasp, revealing the billiard balls set.

“I remembered you always said you used to go to the arcade to play, but Dante wouldn’t let you get a turn.”

“Yeaaaaah,” he drawled. He looked up suddenly, putting two and two together.

“Caitlin Snow. You didn’t!”

She nodded fast. “I did!”

He stood up, sending his wheelie office chair flying backwards. “A pool table!?! For me?”

“It’ll be delivered to your place tomorrow morning.”

He hugged the set to his chest. “But why?”

“A thank you,” Caitlin shrugged, looking down at her strappy sandals, then meeting his eyes. “Because you’re my best friend, and you made me feel better on Wednesday. I already cashed my mom’s cheque for the dinner, and I didn’t want the rest. So I thought of something to do with it for you.”

“You know I don’t know how to play,” he laughed.

Caitlin smirked, leaning her elbow against Cisco’s table. “We’ll learn.”

 

~.~

 

They sat on his couch, Cisco watching her out of the corner of his eye, thinking she hadn’t noticed.

“You knew on the day I got mom’s birthday card,” she said.

It went quiet.

“I didn’t know. But, that’s when I began to honestly openly dislike him.”

“Possessive,” she spat, sliding down until she was sideways on the sofa, burying her head in his lap. “Why was I so stupid?”

He stroked her hair. “Not stupid. Not stupid at all. We were all duped. I should’ve realized. So soon after that he took you and sent Rupture to kill me.”

Caitlin had no tears left, they had dried out hours ago after waking from her nightmare, crying for Cisco through the phone.

She had let him breach to her bedroom and pick her up, carrying her back into a breach and setting her on his couch. It was late, and she knew he was tired, his eyes drooping a little, but he stayed up sitting with her because she needed him.

But she still felt brittle and raw, nuzzling her cheek into the soft material of his pyjamas.

“I just want to go back to normal,” she said in a small voice.

Cisco sighed. “Normal is long gone, Caitlin.”

She closed her eyes and breathed.

“But hey,” he said, pulling her up and turning her head behind the couch. Caitlin twisted the blankets she had cocooned around her, looking in the direction Cisco wanted her to.

“I’ve never had the chance to test out the pool table. Wanna try it?”

Caitlin bit the inside of her cheek, fighting the ghost of a smile. “At three in the morning?”

“There’s no better time,” he promised.

~.~

 

“Feeling a little better?”

 

She knew that Cisco knew it didn't work like that. Caitlin felt used, and hollow, and broken and no arcade game with long pointy sticks that men liked to play while smoking cigars was going to magically fix that. 

 

But, she amended, no longer quite so alone. 

 

She nodded. It also probably had a lot to do with the fact that she was beating him badly.

 

“Well,” Cisco said, eyeing his queue to hit a 6 ball. He looked up and gave her a special grin. “Guess we’ve got your mom to thank for that.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Also. I promised a certain someone a killervibe pool table fic. Fun fact: Cisco has a pool table (and a vintage arcade game) in his apartment! You can spot them in 3x17.


End file.
